Kuroshitsuji III: The Beast and the Harlot
by Ryuu-Kitsune-Onna1
Summary: When a young lady friend of Alois Trancy dreams of a boy who's situation is quite similar to his and his rival's, what will future events contain? Especially when this friend is from another world? Rivals will turn friends to save the one they care most.


R-K-O1: Ohaiyo, Minna-san! It has been far too long! I've been having a few writer's block issues with my other stories, but I'm seeing what I can do about them. For now, this is something I've been working on till that writer's block passes!

Alois: *rolls eyes* Another story?

R-K-O1: Yes. Shush. This story is something I've been working to put into the Sakura-con Fanfiction contest. Because 1: I've been on a Kuroshitsuji craze at the moment...

Willow: And 2: She hasn't finished anything else.

R-K-O1: -_-; ... This is true. Anyway, getting off that topic. Willow, care to give the disclaimer?

Willow: *sigh* I guess so. Kuroshitsuji belongs to Yana Toboso, 'Ash' and 'Emily' belong to their respectable artists on DeviantArt, while myself and any other characters you read of from here-on-out are under Kitsune's ownership. Steal those without her permission will get your soul devoured.

R-K-O1: By either Claude, Sebastian or my original demon character. Anyway, now that we got all that out of the way, Claude?

Claude: *shakes his head before sweeping his hand towards a door bowing* Welcome to **Kuroshitsuji III: the Beast and the Harlot**. Enjoy.

_Cool and dark was the night when the summer moon was at its fullest. Silent, as well... But the silence was broken by the barking of dogs, the shouting of people, and pounding of feet against the dirt road. Burning torches cast a lurid illumination across the trees and brambles. One person, a woman in a obsidian and crimson maid's dress, paused to look around before shouting out to the rest of the party. "Hurry up and find him! Or else the master will have all of our heads!" She got several answers in return before continuing on into the woods, hiking up the train of her skirt to prevent her from tripping. What none of the group noticed was a pale face peaking out from around a large tree trunk. This was the one they were looking for._

_Stefen allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. After so many years of servitude as a harlot for lords and ladies alike, he has escaped that hell. As he slowly stood on shaky legs, his eyes widened when he realized that he wasn't alone anymore. A force of some sort surrounded the entire area that, even though it wasn't visible, the dumbest of beasts could plainly feel it. Finally, after a tense moment of waiting, the source of the presence showed himself... Or, rather, itself. From the ground directly in front of him, a large rodent popped out of the foliage to stand on its hind legs. The boy permeated himself to sigh again. "It's just a mouse." He said to himself._

"_A rat, actually." A masculine voice replied, causing Stefen to look around him franticly. No one was anywhere near him, except... "But, if you want to get into specifics, I am a Rattus norvegicus, or Norway rat, along with many other commonly used names." When he heard the voice again, the boy realized that no human was speaking. Turning, he laid his eyes on the mouse (_rat_, he corrected himself). "But I prefer Wharf rat myself." Yes, the rat was speaking to him. He was stunned; stunned into silence, in fact._

"_Why so shocked?" The rat 'said' in an amused fashion. "You wished for freedom and I answered." Stefen's eyes widened when he heard what the rat said. "Yes, I helped you escape. But, as you are, you are bound to be captured again." At his own words, a sly smile seemed to grace the rat's muzzle. "Never fear, though. If you so desire your individuality and revenge against all who have come into contact with you, let your desires be known."_

_Stefen, still speechless, felt his lips tremble as he tried to speak once more. "I... I desire..." Suddenly, shouts could be heard closing in on him, causing him to panic. They found him! He didn't want to be caught to serve anyone any more!_

_The rat sensed this, causing his hooded blue eyes to flash briefly. "Let your screams pierce the darkness!" he said urgently, eagerly._

_His fear of getting taken back to that retched place snapped him out of his silence. "I desire freedom, protection! I desire revenge!" As soon as he spoke his wish, the entire area was surrounded by a flurry of, what appeared to be, filthy snow. When his eyes fell upon a tall figure that came out of nowhere, he felt a tingle on his inner left ear. The figure smiled a toothy grin, the canines far pointier than a normal humans... And eyes the color of the ocean lit up in excitement..._

Purple eyes slowly slid open as a drowsy feminine murmur issued forth. Pushing back the lavender comforter, a young girl of fourteen stretched her arms above her head, relishing the cracking of sore joints. Running her fingers through her short purple hair, her eyes shifted back down to the bed when another figure did the same. Her gaze was greeted by a head of corn blond hair, shrouding the youthful face of her best friend, Alois Trancy. The girl smiled down at him before slipping out of bed, the train of her coral nightgown falling around her ankles. She liked the colour of her sleeping clothes because it was the only other vibrant colour in the room; the other being purple. Quickly reaching the door, she slipped soundlessly out of the room and into the hall.

In the kitchen, the girl, named Willow Sharee, filled a pot with water and put it over the stove. As she waited for the water to boil, she set out a teapot and two tea cups overturned on saucers to the side on a silver tray. Once everything was set, she sat on a stool and proceeded to let her mind wander. For what reason, you might ask? For the very reason she was up at the crack of dawn, far earlier than her friend's butler. She awoke from a very strange dream. A dream that brought a sense of deja vu with it.

She was looking through someone else's eyes. She could tell because when she looked down, she saw hands that weren't her own; scarred, pale. Below her line of vision if she looked strait ahead, she saw a fairly large rat. But, all of a sudden, that form changed to become a man towering over her (much like Claude and Sebastian do, she mused to herself). His face was shadowed, but she could plainly see a pair of 'impossibly blue eyes' as she has decided to know them by. Following the eyes, a kind, yet somehow menacing, smile was baring down at her (or, rather, whomever eyes she was seeing through). Suddenly, he raised a pale right hand to cover the area where his heart is, allowing her to see a pentagram on his hand with another circle inside, weaving through the star.

This man was a demon. She just knew he was. It was plainly obvious. His height, his eyes, and the Faustian contact seal were all the things she was familiar with. Both Sebastian and Claude show the same things. And she would know such a thing because she's been around them for so long. Hell, she would recognize his appearance, since she saw Claude's similar summoning.

Slowly, the hissing of the water boiling on the stove brought her out of her thoughts. Taking a tin of tea leaves, she put three scoops of her own blend into the porcelain tea pot she set up. The almost hot spicy scent of cinnamon permeated her nostrils as she does this task, causing her to breathe the scent in deeply in relish before capping the tin again. Taking a towel, she grasped the handle of the pot on the stove and carefully poured out half a pint into the kettle. Hopefully, that would be enough for herself and Alois when he wakes up. She just hoped that his butler wouldn't be too mad at her for taking his job this morning.

Just as she thought about him, the doors to the kitchen opened as she stirred a dash of milk into the tea. "Good morning, touji-sama." Speak of the devil... Turning from the pot of tea, she saw Claude Faustus, clad entirely in black (as usual), his gold slanted eyes gazing down at her as he approached.

Willow smiled at the man in a friendly way. "Morning." She replied back.

"Why up so early? Doing my job?" Initially, she thought that he was mad. But his tone said otherwise. It was inquisitive, and a tad worried.

But, smiling reassuringly, she replied, "I like making tea. Besides, I made a new blend recently, but haven't had the chance to try it."

However, he could see that she wasn't telling the entire truth. "Why else?"

After a moment, Willow sighed a bit to herself. _'Can't hide anything from a demon.'_ She reminded herself. "I had a strange dream this morning."

Claude raised an eyebrow at this as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "How strange?" He asked, genuinely concerned for her.

"Well... I think I saw another demon." This alone caused Claude to perk up in interest, but he said nothing, letting Willow continue. "The reason I say demon is because I saw him change forms from a rat to a 'person'. Tall, dark, with impossibly blue eyes."

"Do you have any idea as to why you had this dream?"

"None. But, obviously, it must mean something. Right?"

"Possibly..."

Willow sighed a little at his vagueness, shaking her head as she flipped one of the tea cups over and poured some tea into the cup. "Is that all you have to say, Claude? Possibly?"

Said golden-eyed man raised a black eyebrow at the girl in front of him, back now turned to him. "What do you want me to say?"

"Something a little less vague than that. You're a demon, right? And you knew Sebastian before Ciel's time, right?"

"Somewhat."

"Well, can't you identify this new demon?"

"I would have to actually see him to 'identify' him, unfortunately."

She sighed again, face falling into the palm of her hand. Sometimes, the spider demon could be so aggravating. But he had a point. The only reason he didn't recognize Sebastian when he first saw him was because he was wearing a bulky coat and a top hat. He would need a little more to go on than a description alone. But, as she turned around, cup nestled in the saucer and grasped in her hand, she saw one of Claude's pristine white gloved hands grasping his chin in thought. Tilting her head in curiosity, she asked, "Remember something?"

After a few moments of thoughtful silence, he nodded slowly. "Yes... You said before that he changed forms from a rat to a human, correct?"

"Yeah."

"I remember one particular demon who had such a form. Jasper Lucian."

Willow hummed thoughtfully as she sipped her tea, the hot cinnamon taste dancing on her tongue, which caused her to hum again as she leaned against the counter. "Jasper... That **does** sound awfully rat-like."

"That might not be his name, though. But I'm pretty sure that it is."

She shrugged nonchalantly, taking another sip. "Good enough for me. Well, either way, Alois will most likely be awake soon. I made enough tea for him to drink as well." Quickly draining her cup, she set it to the side to get washed. "If you want to find me, I'll be in the garden with my friends." With that said, she walked past Claude out of the kitchen.

A few short hours later, breakfast was served. As the young master of the house was seated, he noted that his purple-haired friend was nowhere to be seen. "Claude." He addressed to his butler, who bowed in acknowledgment. "Where's Willow? I haven't seen her this morning."

"Last I saw her, she said that she was going to be in the garden." he replied calmly.

Alois nodded before looking over at his maid, who was currently setting his breakfast on the table. "Hannah." said maid froze in place but listened intently to him, not daring to look in his direction. "Fetch Willow for breakfast." She nodded before bowing to him and, without even glancing at him, turned to follow his order.

Hannah was, honest to god, scared of the brat she has to call her master. He's violent, selfish, foulmouthed, and much more that she could list off. He nearly gouged out her eye for merely looking at him! Thankfully, though, her eyesight had been spared, because the young mistress would not see to such needless harm. She was usually the one that prevented him from doing anything drastic and unneeded. _'The two children'_, she mused to herself, '_are like the Yin and Yang of China; Willow-Touji-sama is the Yin, Danna-sama the Yang. They balance each other out.'_

When she reached the garden, she was about to step inside but stopped short when she encountered one of the creatures that belongs to the very young girl she was looking for. Body white and wispy, it was covered in a mossy green cloak, hands clasped in front of it as if it was praying. Crowning it's head was, what looked like, a tree, the branches void of any foliage, making it appear dead. But the one thing- two things, actually- that made it unsettling to look at were it's 'faces'. On the trunk of the tree, it had a pair of fake eyes that glowed yellow, the mask beneath it in the shape of an evil smile. Lower, there appeared to be a jaw-less face as the bottom of the cloak ends where the edges of the mouth are, the arms and the roots of the tree upon it's head spill out of the eye holes.

But, despite looking fearsome, it didn't look like this around people it deems trustworthy, like Hannah. When it heard her coming, it's real eyes where the evil grin is opened, making it look like it has holes it it's 'teeth'. Floating over to her, it nodded in acknowledgement of her presence. She nodded back with a small smile. "Good morning, Ash." She said kindly to it. This caused it (or rather he, due to the name) to close his eyes again, only this time, they looked like upside-down U's.

"Willoweep." He replied it a deep voice, seeming pleased at her greeting.

This caused Hannah's smile to widen. "Is Willow-Touji-sama still here? Breakfast is ready and Danna-sama sent me to locate her." She received a nod before he began to lead her farther into the garden. She liked Ash, but it took a lot of getting used to when it grew from hovering at the hight of her waist to being able to float at eye level. The fake faces were even more daunting, since before, it only had one. Since people were only able to see his eyes, he taught himself to be more expressive with his eyes and tone of voice. But it was all well worth it; he's an invaluable member of Willow's team of ghosts.

Speaking of her purple-haired mistress, she could just see her, surrounded by the rest of her friends. She was kneeling on an evenly spread-out picnic blanket, legs neatly tucked underneath her. She was wearing a blue dress that Alois purchased her. It wasn't quite like most noble lady dresses since there was less puff and frill to this one. Nice and simple, it had an off-white apron that bore the same pattern parts of the bodice had; leaves and clutches of grapes, it seemed. It was a dress that was specially made for the young lady donning it now. It hugged her curves comfortably and it was supposed to be for outside purposes such as this.

Currently, she had some food spread out on her apron and was handing pieces to the creatures she called her companions. There was a purple witch-like creature (pointy hat and flowing cape) with a waistband of red jewels that sparkled slightly. Actually standing, there was also a large red one with white detached hands and, seemingly, a single red eye underneath it's white skull mask. Then, there was a small purple dog lacking hind paws floating around, as if it wanted to sit in her occupied lap. Off to the side, there were two more creatures. One looked like it was wearing a Japanese kimono, waving a tiny white finger at the second one, who was an orange creature surrounded in blue lightning, seeming to be scolding it.

As she fed the creatures, 'Pokemon' as she calls them, she hummed a little tune, completely ignorant of the maid that just arrived. That is, until Ash floated over to her and pointed her out. The sudden appearance caused the girl to stop humming and look in the direction her friend pointed. She smiled when her eyes fell onto the woman. "Good morning, Hannah." She said politely as she stood, dusting off her apron while feeding the rest of the food to everyone.

Hannah smiled back and bowed to her. "Good morning, Willow-touji-sama. Breakfast is ready." No sooner than she said this, her stomach growled, causing the owner of the growl to blush in slight embarrassment and the maid to giggle lightly at the irony. "It seems that Danna-sama picked a good time to call you back."

When she heard what the silver-haired maid said, Willow let out a small 'ha'. "So he sent me, eh? I might've known." As she began walking back into the manor, she murmured to herself and to Hannah as she passed by, "Awfully dependent, wouldn't you think? It's either me or his butler he needs."

Hannah giggled as she walked along side her, her companions staying behind in the garden. "Or both." This response caused the girl to laugh again before going silent when they stepped inside. The walls have ears, after all.

Breakfast was rather uneventful, as was a good portion of the day. As soon as Willow sat herself at the breakfast table, Alois had gotten up from his seat to embrace her and kiss her on the cheek, causing her to blush. Then, he went into how he adored the tea she made for him which caused her to be even more flustered. As they ate, they discussed about random things that came to mind. Although, for the most part, they were silent. The day dragged on slowly, everyone doing their own thing. But, as the afternoon came round, things started kicking up a little bit.

In Alois' office, he and his purple-haired friend were sorting papers that he had just finished. He looked over at her, smiling at the little purple dog, nicknamed Emily, curled up in her lap. But, just looking at her and her ghosts made him think about something; something he's wanted to ask for a while now. Well, now was as good a time as any. "When do you think you'll be able to go home?"

Willow, confused, shifted her gaze over at his direction. "As soon as I find Giratina, most likely." she replied as if she was telling him the obvious. "Why ask this now?"

The blond shrugged and set his stack of papers to the side. "It's just been on my mind recently. I've liked the times we had together, but something in the back of my brain's been asking 'But how much longer is it gonna last?'"

Chuckling a little as his speech, she pet Emily while saying, "You've always been dependent on others, haven't ya?"

Glaring at her, he playfully shoved her arm, which only caused her to snicker. "Shut up." When she stopped laughing, he dared to speak again. "But even if you were able to go home, would you?"

Pausing to think, she leaned back in her seat, still petting her little friend. "Well..." she began, pressing a finger to her lips. "The thing is... After so long away from my own world, I'd really like to go back there." When she saw his sad face out of the corner of her eye, she continued. "However, after being here for almost a year now, I feel like that this is my new home. I've told you how crappy my own home was, right?"

Alois nodded slowly. "Yeah. You didn't say much, but I got the feeling of it being bad when you said that you ran away with Medea."

Nodding herself, she spoke again. "Well, then... I guess the only answer left to say is that, if I could go home, I wouldn't leave without you."

The blond's eyes widened as he stood abruptly, jolting Emily from her peaceful slumber she had fallen into. "Really? You mean it?"

Only smiling at him, she replied, "I want you to see my world, just as I've seen yours. It's just simply incredible. Everyone can be who they want to- BE!" She got cut off when the hyperactive Alois tackled her to the ground (and I mean that litaraly; she fell out of her chair) in a bone crushing hug, Emily having leaped out of her lap to avoid being caught in the middle. But what shocked her even more was when he planted a kiss directly on her lips.

She knew that Alois had feelings for her, but she wasn't quite sure how strong they were. Now she knew; he loved her. Smiling into the kiss, she responded to it, kissing him back. But, the moment was ruined when Claude walked into the room, carrying a silver tray on his fingertips. He merely raised an eyebrow at the two before clearing his throat to get their attention. Breaking the kiss, they both looked over at the demon butler.

Willow had the decency to look embarrassed as she picked herself off the floor. The young Trancy, on the other hand, looked annoyed. "What do you want, Claude?

Holding out the tray to them, he said as he bowed, "A message for Danna-sama."

Willow took the envelope on the tray to get a closer look at it, Alois sitting behind his desk once more. The wax seal bore, what appeared to be, a chimera; the head of a bull, claws of an eagle, body of a lion, and a tail of a serpent. It explained little of who the message was from, so she broke the seal and opened the envolope. The paper inside was of fine parchment, neat cursive handwriting along the entire page. So neat, it appeared to have been written by a mouse.

"_'To the head of Trancy manor'_," the purple-haired girl read aloud. "_'My master, Viscount Stefen Conway, is holding a ball at our humble manor, and he would very much like you to attend. You are allowed to bring one guest of your choosing to accompany you, as well as a servant from your own house. The directions to my master's manor are included with this invitation. We hope to see you. Sincerely, the head butler of Conway manor,...'_ She suddenly stopped reading as her eyes widen significantly.

Alois was almost instantly by her side, looking deeply into her orchid orbs in worry. "Will, what's wrong?"

Claude, too, voiced his worry, which was rare, but the girl has grown on him. "Touji-sama?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, she regained her composure to look back at the spider demon to finish her sentence, sounding like she's seen a ghost. "_'Jasper Lucian'_..."

R-K-O1: This story has been posted on FanFiction for my lovely friend, **Shady-Lady**. You know who you are. ;)

Willow: And, just a quick tid-bit. Touji-sama is supposed to mean 'mistress of the house'. Since Alois is Danna-sama.

Alois: Kitsune would very much like you to comment on this story. Flames will be used to keep my house warm and creative critisisim will be noted.

Claude: *bows again ever stoic* Have a lovely day.


End file.
